Textil [30.07.07]

Bono y su esposa Ali visitan una empresa textil en España:

El cantante del grupo U2, Bono, visitó ayer al mediodía las instalaciones de Inditex en Arteixo, en una recorrido por las oficinas y que no se prolongó más allá de media hora.

El director de Comunicación y Relaciones Institucionales, Jesús Echevarría, se mostró muy reservado sobre este tema y, aunque confirmó la presencia de la estrella, no quiso ir más allá de este extremo. "El señor Bono expresó su deseo de ver las instalaciones y eso hicimos. Fue un acto totalmente privado", aseguró.

En dicho recorrido le hicieron de cicerone el dueño del grupo Inditex, Amancio Ortega, y el consejero delegado, Pablo Isla. La aparición de la estrella del rock mundial causó, al parecer, una gran conmoción entre los empleados de la empresa textil cuando pasó por el comedor colectivo, aunque no son tan extrañas las visitas de grandes personalidades a la sede de Inditex. Ninguna fuente oficial de la compañía arteixana quiso comentar cual fue la causa última detrás de la cual estuviera la fugaz visita de Bono, aunque las opciones más probables de entre las que se barajan se encuentra la de que el cantante y su mujer han confesado su deseo de sacar a la venta una línea de ropa unisex. Otro rumor apunta a que Bono, bien conocido por su apoyo a las causas solidarias, quiera interesarse por las actividades que desarrolla la Fundación Amancio Ortega.

Una tercera fuente oficiosa señala que el artista y filántropo, comprometido en la lucha contra el calentamiento global, esté realizando una gira de inspección a nivel internacional para conocer de primera mano el funcionamiento de aquellas empresas que emplean métodos de producción no agresivos con el medio ambiente ni contaminantes.

La colecta anual para construir pozos de agua potable en Africa realizada por fans de la banda recaudó U$S 34.000. Bono agradece el gesto con una tarjeta que podés ver en este enlace:

Well, Well, Well, Well, Well, Well
And Well done

I think its my favourite birthday gift every year… and this year I wanted to thank you – music is pouring out of the U2 ers at the minute and despite what’s happening out there in a wild wild world I am so happy to be alive enough to give it a good kickin.

There’s no business like shoe business
Bono

Supermodelo [22.07.07]

Gisele Bunchen asegura que protagonizará el próximo video de U2:

As the world's highest paid supermodel, Gisele Bunchen can afford to be picky with her projects -- and we hear she's in excited talks with Bono to star in U2's next music video.

The pair reportedly hit it off when Gisele appeared in awareness-raising ads for Bono's RED charity campaign, for which she refused payment.

The supermodel is no stranger to performing for the camera -- she recently signed up for a part in the film Angels and Demons, the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, following her acting debut in the 2004 film Taxi -- and it seems that appearances in music videos are all part of the modelling DNA; think Linda Evangelista's appearance in George Michael's "Freedom," Christie Brinkley as Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl," Helena Christensen's sultry show for Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Kate Moss pole dancing for the White Stripes' "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself."

Bono y The Edge colaboran con el nuevo disco de Tom Jones:

Tom Jones has already recorded three songs for his first album for S-Curve, including one penned by U2's Bono and featuring guitar work by the Edge.
Jones is working with the same team that helped shape Joss Stone's albums, specifically Betty Wright and Mike Mangini.
S-Curve owner Steve Greenberg said they intend to drive home the idea that Tom Jones is one of the world's great soul singers. "This pushes him in several different directions. In 1965, he was a raw R&B singer that might have emerged as England's answer to Otis Redding. Of course his career went in a different direction, but we're placing him back at that crossroads."
One of the first tracks recorded is a cover of the Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor." Rather than emulate the Monkeys' recording, for Jones' version they used Eddie Floyd's "Big Bird" as a rhythmic base; Jones unveiled his version at the recent Concert for Diana.
Greenberg said the album is not limited to deep soul ballads and will not be a Motown tribute or a duets disc. "It will be a creative adult album." There is no release date penciled in.

The Future Is Unwriten [19.07.07]

Ya se puede ver el trailer del documental sobre Joe Strummer, en el que participa Bono:

En el próximo Festival Internacional de Cine de Toronto, a realizarse en septiembre, se estrenara el documental de Daniel Lanois HERE IS WHAT IS, y que presenta sesiones de grabación con diferentes músicos incluye a U2. Podés ver el trailer en este enlace

DVD Pop Mart [18.07.07]

El DVD U2 PopMart live from Mexico se editará en nuestro país en formato doble y regular. La fecha estimada de lanzamiento será para el 20 de septiembre.

Viñeta humorística que solucionaría el problema de Africa y la sobre-exposición de Bono:

Lo Mejor en Vivo [15.07.07]

Spinner recopila las mejores actuaciones durante shows a beneficio, y ubica a U2 en el 2do puesto con su performance de BAD en el Live Aid:

Best Benefit Performances: No. 2

Who: U2
What: 'Bad'
Where: Live Aid (London)
When: July 13, 1985

Until Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof came calling, U2 was merely the little Irish quartet that could. Once mullet-flapping Bono showed the crowd at Wembley Stadium that he could save the world and woo women with the same song, the "Best Live Band in the World" was officially born.

El actor Robin Williams afirma que se inspiró en Bono para componer el personaje de su nueva película:

Robin Williams told SCI FI Wire that he channels the rock star Bono as a mysterious stranger called the Wizard in the upcoming fantasy movie August Rush.
"This isn't the most spiritual or religious character I've played," Williams said in a red-carpet interview at the premiere of his film License to Wed. "I think that would have to be Parry in The Fisher King, where he is searching for the Holy Grail. ... The Wizard [in August Rush] is more like Fagin [in Oliver Twist], a bit more Dickensian with a mystical element." In addition to looking like Bono, the Wizard wears his signature sunglasses and cowboy hat.
August Rush, which was filmed in New York's Washington Square, stars Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as the title character, a boy who is looking for his lost parents. Williams teaches the boy how to play the guitar, and through the music the boy communicates with his parents, played by Mission: Impossible III co-stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Keri Russell. The boy becomes a guitar prodigy, and Williams' character looks like he may be exploiting the boy, but there's some magical quality about him as well.
"Wizard is a bit Dickensian," Williams said. "But there's the brilliant character that Freddie plays, and Wizard is envious and knows he is the real thing. He seems like he's in it only for the money. It's a kind of [Amadeus foe] Salieri meets Dickens, with a bit more whimsy and music." August Rush opens Oct. 19.

Uncut [11.07.07]

Mas detalles de los discos seleccionados por The Edge como vitales para su carrera, según este artículo de Uncut:

THE RECORD THAT REMINDS ME OF WHEN WE FIRST BROKE

London Calling
The Clash, 1979

They were part of our era, the punk and post-punk movement. One of the first punk shows I ever saw was Stiff Little Fingers, so music I cared a lot about always had a political element. London Calling is their finest hour. It was released when they were being called sell-outs. I never cared about all that sh**, I just thought this is an amazing band, this is an amazing record.

A RECORD THAT INFLUENCED U2

Horses
Patti Smith, 1975

It had the energy we were trying to achieve, but the poetic quality of it was also really significant, and the way it was arranged -- the economy. I always consider myself a minimalist in terms of arrangement -- the least necessary is the best approach -- and this record is the best example of that. John Cale did an amazing job, and all the players never broke their cool.

Broadway [09.07.07]

Flynet y Filmmagic ofrecen algunas imágenes de Bono y The Edge visitando la obra 'Spring Awakening' en Broadway:

Underwold [08.07.07]

Larry Mullen y Brian Eno son la inspiración del nuevo disco de Underwold:

For its first album in five years, pioneering electronica duo Underworld solicited advice from the likes of Brian Eno, U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and longtime collaborator Darren Price to help sort through nearly 200 pieces of new music.

"These conversations inspired us," group member Karl Hyde tells Billboard.com of the October release "Oblivion With Bells," adding that a comment from Price helped turn live favorite "Crocodile" into the top-notch studio version the duo has previously been unable to nail. The cut is now a contender for the album's first single.

Hyde is particularly excited by tracks like the nearly nine-minute closer "Best Mamgu Ever," where "my voice pops out of it in the middle but then vanishes into lush electronics and conversations that are gated," as well as "Glam Bucket," which was intended for use as part of Underworld's score for the Danny Boyle film "Sunshine" but was reclaimed for "Oblivion With Bells."

Here is the track list for "Oblivion With Bells"

"Crocodile"
"Beautiful Burnout"
"Holding the Moth"
"To Heal"
"Ring Road"
"Glam Bucket"
"Boy, Boy, Boy"
"Cuddle Bunny vs. The Celtic Villages"
"Faxed Invitation"
"Good Morning Cockerel"
"Best Mamgu Ever"

Bono y The Edge se encuentran en Broadway trabajando en la musicalización de la versión teatral del Hombre Araña:

In town to work on the hush-hush, hot-hot private reading of their all-singing, all-swinging Spider-Man (directed by Tony winner Julie Taymor), U2 rock icons Bono and The Edge decided to take in some Broadway to get them in the mood. So what did they see last night to whet their appetite? Spring Awakening, of course! Broadway.com’s Bruce Glikas got them for a smile (almost!) in the lobby after the show. Welcome to Broadway, boys!

U2.com anuncia los detalles del nuevo DVD de la banda, a la venta desde el 10 de septiembre en el 1er mundo:

Described as a 'sci-fi disco supermarket', the PopMart Tour opened in its 'spiritual home', Las Vegas, on 25th April 1997. 'PopMart Live from Mexico City' was filmed at the Foro Sol Autodromo in Mexico City in December that year and directed by David Mallet. Filmed on analogue video - and originally released on video in 1998 - for its DVD debut it has been transferred to a digital format with re-graded pictures, remastered audio and mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound.

The DVD will come in a Standard 1-disc format, featuring the concert, and a Special Limited Edition 2-disc format, the 2nd bonus disc containing unreleased live audio and video material, including documentaries, a PopMart tour visuals montage, and DVD-ROM extras.

Here's the track listing:

Disc One:

Pop Muzik / Mofo / I Will Follow / Gone / Even Better Than The Real Thing / Last Night On Earth / Until The End of The World / New Year's Day / Pride (In The Name Of Love) / I Still Haven't Found What I?m Looking For / All I Want Is You / Desire / Staring At The Sun / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Bullet The Blue Sky / Please / Where The Streets Have No Name / Lemon (Perfecto Mix) / Discothèque / If You Wear That Velvet Dress / With Or Without You / Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me / Mysterious Ways / One / Wake Up Dead Man

Performance from Foro Sol Autodromo, Mexico City, filmed 3rd December 1997

Director : David Mallet
Producer : Ned O'Hanlon
Executive Producer - Paul McGuinness
Show Designer/Director - Willie Williams

Bonus disc (special limited edition format only)

1. Bonus live tracks
- Please / Where The Streets Have No Name / Discothèque / If You Wear That Velvet Dress
All recorded live at Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam on 18th July 1997

- Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me / Mysterious Ways / One All recorded live at Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton on 14th June 1997

2. Bonus video tracks
- Staring At The Sun (Miami version)
Directed by Morleigh Steinberg

- Last Night On Earth - First Night In Hell (Remix version)
Directed by John Bland

3. Documentaries
- Lemon For Sale
- The Road To Sarajevo
- A Tour Of The Tour
- Last Night On Earth ? One Day In Kansas

4. PopMart Tour Visuals Montage
Curated by Catherine Owens

5. Extras
- DVD-Rom: Weblinks, Wallpapers, Screensavers

Aspect: 4:3
Sound: Disc 1: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5:1 Surround, DTS 5:1 Surround
Bonus Disc: PCM Stereo
Duration: Disc 1: 2 hrs 6 mins
Bonus Disc: 1 hr 31 mins
Language: English
Subtitles (Bonus disc only): English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese
(not including any subtitling of songs)
DVD: Disc 1: DVD 9
Bonus Disc: DVD 5

Celular [04.07.07]

El cantante de Razorlight acusa a Bono de borrarle todos los mensajes de texto guardados:

Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell is friends with Bono - but says the U2 frontman calling him has led to serious technical problems.

The two have shared intimate chats - but when Bono hangs up something very strange happens.

Borrell revealed: "Nobody has Bono in their contacts! Bono doesn't have a number that can stick in contacts. The last time Bono phoned me, it wiped all my saved text messages out of my phone.

He added: "It went 'ching, ching, ching, ching' like that - like a Pac-Man thing. He deleted all my text messages - it was amazing! Maybe he was using Al Gore's phone of some secret service stuff, but there was no way you could get the number to call him back because not only had the number gone but the whole call history had gone. I don't think anyone's got Bono's number."

The Edge en Uncut [04.07.07]

La revista Uncut cumple 10 años y lo festeja con una edición aniversario. En la misma, The Edge revela los discos fundamentales en su carrera:

T.Rex 'Hot love' (the record that reminds me of being a teenager)

Beatles 'A hard day's night' (the record that made me want to play the guitar)

The Clash 'London Calling' (the record that reminds me of when we first broke)

Patti Smith 'Horses' (a record that influenced U2)

Iggy Pop 'The idiot' (the record that restored my faith in rock)

Bob Marley 'Legend' (the record I couldn't live without)

Velvet Underground 'Beginning to see the light' (the record I'd like played at my funeral)

Clayton visita la muestra de Jeff Koons en Londres:

Bass player from the band U2, Adam Clayton and guest attend the private view of Jeff Koons: Hulk Elvis, at the Gagosian Gallery June 18, 2007 in London, England.

En el primero de los 5 shows que ofrecerá REM en el Teatro Olimpia de Dublin, REM agradeció entre otros a Bono y Edge por "mantenerlos con los pies en la tierra". Bono y The Edge presenciaron el concierto junto a sus esposas.
REM esta en Dublin grabando un nuevo álbum, y estan usando estos conciertos para presentar nuevas canciones:

REM have been begun their residency in Dublin, debuting a series of new songs at the "working rehearsals".

The group played the first of their five night stand on Saturday evening at the Olympia Theatre, to a crowd that included Bono and The Edge from U2.

Amongst the new songs played so far are "I'm Gonna DJ", "Horse To Water", "Living Well's The Best Revenge" and "Until The Day Is Done".

During the concerts, Michael Stipe, Bill Berry and Mike Mills have performed against a back-drop featuring a flashing sign, which reads: "This Is Not A Show".

While in Ireland, REM are understood to be continuing work on their new album, the follow-up to 2004's "Around The Sun", with producer Jacknife Lee.

100 Days That Changed Music [02.07.07]

Blender Magazine publica un especial sobre los 100 días que cambiaron la historia de la música. U2 se lleva dos días de ese calendario:

42. July 13, 1985
Live Aid
A staggering trans–Atlantic lineup and a record–breaking TV audience of 1.5 billion ensures that philanthropy — and U2’s record sales — will never be the same again.

59. June 5, 1983
U2 play Red Rocks
Despite a torrential downpour, U2 insisted that the show go on at the Colorado amphitheater, an outdoor venue formed by two sandstone megaliths. And for good reason: U2 had committed their life savings to capturing the show on tape for what would become the Under a Blood Red Sky concert video. The evening’s iconic moment came as Bono waved a large white flag during the political anthem “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” When MTV put a clip of this in heavy rotation, it ushered in U2’s quarter–century of world domination.
Unintended consequence: rock stars on Charlie Rose

Similitudes [01.07.07]

Hay algunos temas nuevos que comparten algunas similitudes con canciones de U2. Por ejemplo, el nuevo single de Velvet Revolver tiene una fuerte inspiración en vértigo (video), también Rinocerose parece haberse inspirado en la misma canción de U2 al componer Cubicle (video). Por último, en la canción Guitar de Prince, se perciben algunos acordes de I will follow.
Gracias Karina, Lu_socruel y RU2ben por la data.

En el aniversario Nro. 30 de Hotpress, Edge ofrece una entrevista donde recuerda los primeros días de la revista, explica el papel de Bill Graham en el desarrollo de U2 y comenta las actividades de la banda en Marruecos. Podés leerla desde el site de la revista (si sos abonado) o desde interference.

-On the Elevation and Vertigo tours you revisited songs from Boy: ‘An Cat Dubh’, ‘Electric Co’, ‘Out Of Control’, ‘I Will Follow’. Did the young U2 have anything to teach the older U2?

Well, I was amazed at how sophisticated some of that first record was musically. Of course in those days we wrote songs in a very organic way, music often first, then melodies and then lyrics. But we instinctively would reach for things we felt the music needed, key changes and strange modulations that we wouldn’t really have understood. But now, looking back, the sheer quantity of innovative ideas on that record is pretty amazing. We were actually quite taken aback when we looked at it afresh. Some of the songs have survived better than others, I’m not sure we’d want to put a whole set from Boy in our show, but there’s incredible vitality and life to those songs, and that counts for an awful lot.

-One thing I think it did was capture a sense of the band as an intense, gangly adolescent. Even if parts of it are a bit fumbling and gauche, that’s probably the point.

Yeah, I think it was the Village Voice who said, “After this record this band should break up, because they’ll never ever do anything as interesting as this.” (Laughs) And for all the reasons you just said, everything about it was kind of searching, and missing the mark, spectacularly in some places, but it all kinda added up to the telling of a certain story, and it did that very eloquently.

-Location has always been crucial to U2 records. You were in Fez for a couple of weeks recently.

Yeah, we just got back.

-Is this your latest psycho-geographical adventure, trying to channel the atmosphere of a place into the music?

I think it is. It was one of those ideas that wouldn’t go away. Bono suggested it a good while ago. He throws out ideas a lot, and a lot of them do not necessarily get met with the greatest enthusiasm. I would probably be the one most ready to go for it, Adam is fairly easygoing, Larry is hard to persuade a lot of times. In this case, to everyone’s amazement, Larry pretty early on went, “I think there’s something to this; it sounds like a good idea.”
So we talked to Brian Eno and Danny Lanois about possibly coming and writing with us, which is a new thing, and also to our amazement they both said, “Yeah, great, love to.” So we set off to Morocco and set up in a small Riad, which is like a hotel built around a central courtyard, and spent a couple of amazing weeks working with Brian and Danny.
We were there during a festival of sacred music in Fez, so we saw some amazing artists. It’s all stuff that just takes you out of your comfort zone, and we seem to thrive in that situation, where expectations are really disregarded and you’re there to explore and discover new things.

-How different is it having Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois contribute as musicians?

Well, they’ve always chipped in on the playing front, so in that sense it’s not so radical, but I think having it being a joint project has changed the emphasis slightly, and I have to say the chemistry that operates between the six of us is extraordinary. It’s the four, it’s the U2 thing, but it’s given another twist with Brian and Danny.

-Are these songwriting sessions for a U2 album or an extra-curricular endeavour?

It’s a U2 project, and one of the luxuries we’ve afforded ourselves is not to have to think about exactly what it will be or how it’ll be finished or when it’ll be released. Right now, we’re so enjoying the idea of making music for the sake of making music that we want to keep that going as long as is financially possible. And of course, at some point we’ll have to sit down and say, “Well, what have we got; is this one record, two records? Or is it a 12 inch single?” (Laughs). Then take it from there...

Vanity Fair [27.06.07]

ABCNews ofrece una entrevista donde Bono reconoce su complejo de 'Mesías' y comenta los pormenores de su participación en el número especial de Vanity Fair dedicado a Africa

Anunciamos dos fiestas imperdibles para los fans de México y Perú:

MEXICO
30.06.07
U2 UNDER A SMOG GREY SKY celebra 10 años de trayectoria! El evento contará con:
*Playera POP for CLUBBERS conmemorativa de edición limitada de obsequio para los primeros 100 covers.
* Poster POP for CLUBBERS conmemorativo del cover 101 al 200.
* Botones y stickers.
* Regalos, cortesía de UNIVERSAL MUSIC MEXICO.
* NO NAME, la banda de covers de la comunidad, en vivo, rockeando con las rolas de U2.
* DJ Set en dos areas: HOLY JOE BAR (ambient) y THE KITCHEN (para bailar y rockear).
* Videos en pantallas y proyección hacia la calle.

Cover: $60 - Acceso al club: 9.00 PM - Cupo limitado
Mayores de 18 años
Dada-X Club
Bolivar 31 2o Piso - Centro Histórico- Ciudad de México

PERU
REUNION DE FANS
Jueves 28 de Junio, 8:00 p.m.
Lugar: Treff Pub Alemán
Dirección: Av. Benavides 571, interior 10, Centro Comercial Los Duendes (ref: esquina Benavides - La Paz, caminar hacia Larco, hay letrero chico), Miraflores.
Notas: S/. 8 el chopp de medio litro, S/. 18 la jarra de chela.

Elevation [26.06.07]

Airliners.net compila varias imágenes de los aviones utilizados por U2 en sus giras, vale la pena verlos

Vertigo Tour: Airbus A320-211 (2005) V1

Vertigo Tour: British Aerospace BAe-146-300 (2005) V2

Vertigo Tour: Airbus A320-211 (2005) V3

Vertigo Tour: Airbus A320-211 (2006) V4

Elevation Tour: Boeing 727-51 (2001)

Elevation Tour: Boeing 737-7CN BBJ (2001)

PopMart Tour: Boeing 727-89 (1997)

Joshua Tree Tour: Hawker Siddeley HS-125-3B (1987)

Retrocrush compila los 100 peores covers de la historia, U2 se lleva el puesto Nro.34:

#34 "Helter Skelter" by U2

I don't mind their cover of this song too much, but the intro "This is a song Charles Manson stole from The Beatles, and we're here to steal it back" makes the whole thing unbelievably pretentious. Yet another example of a cover that inexplicably changes the pronouns of the original, swapping, "When I get to the bottom I go back" to "When YOU get to the bottom YOU go..." Word has it that if Charles Manson is ever paroled, he plans to steal it the song from U2. What THEN, Bono? WHAT THEN?

Across the Universe [25.06.07]

La película Across the Universe -donde Bono además de actuar tambien colabora con la banda de sonido realizando un cover de I'm The Walrus junto a The Secret Machines- ya tiene fecha de estreno en Argentina: 21 de febrero de 2008.
La semana pasada se dió a conocer el afiche de la película, clickea en la imagen para ampliar.

Cabe destacar que podemos contribuir con los refugiados por el genocidio de Darfur no solo comprando Instant Karma (que contiene un cover por U2) sinó también firmando esta peticion, que esperamos puedas divulgar entre familiares y amigos para continuar recolectando firmas

Marruecos [22.06.07]

Continúa la experimentación sonora de U2 en Fez, Marruecos:

We’re seated with 2,000 others inside a beautiful walled garden, as Parissa and the five-piece Dastan Ensemble, begin their set on a low stage under the shade of two huge trees. Turns out the Ensemble are the most famous classical Iranian group in the world and they deliver a virtuoso performance on the kind of percussion and string instruments rarely played in the West. Parissa herself is a mesmerising Arabic soul singer, totally lost in the music, hands raised heavenward in mystic praise even though no-one has a clue what she’s singing about.

‘Teleological’ is the word Brian Eno later uses to describe this Arabic musical tradition. It has little in common with the ‘verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge…’ construction of western rock’n’roll heritage. For a start they’re not big on the idea of the hit single – the first track alone lasts forty five minutes.
‘Can you believe this?’ asks Bono, as the audience rises as one to salute them at the end of their two-song, 70-minute set. ‘Isn’t that something else ?’
As Bono talks infectiously about the historical overlaps between Arabic music and Irish music, about ‘copts and celts’ and how he has come to Fez to experience the Sufi singing and storytelling tradition, Edge is amazed at the sheer musical dexterity of the players. Savouring music like this is one of the reasons the band chose this city to write music in, home as it is to the annual Festival of World Sacred Music. It’s a perfect setting to sample some indigenous North African music.
‘The Festival of Sacred Music was a big lure for us and for Brian who has been very interested in Arabic music for years,’ he says. ‘We felt we might meet some interesting musicians while here – and we certainly have.’

Eventually managing to negotiate a way through the crowds who are thronging for a picture with Queen Rania, an hour later it’s early evening back in the riad and work is starting on another song.
‘Briefly,’ says Eno, explaining the peculiar distinction of the Arabic musical tradition, ‘You could say that African-based music is generally cyclic – ideas that go round and round in a fairly straightforward way – but Arabic music generally isn’t cyclic. It’s generally a sort of narrative in that it starts in one place and ends up in another place… the proper word is ‘teleological.’

Towards a finish?
‘Yes, it has a definite trajectory and a narrative to it and it doesn’t repeat in the same way that most African-based pop music does. So in a typical pop song you will have ‘A B A B A B C A B B’ or something like that but in Arabic music you might have ‘A B C F B G F’ or something like that.
‘Basically it just goes off and what we’ve been doing here these past few days is enjoying things like that more and more, moving away from the simply cyclic way of writing things.’

So you’re trying to create a different sensibility in the songwriting here? Well, he says, put it like this: ‘Whenever there was an aesthetic decision to be made we’ve asked, ‘How would it be solved in Arabic music?’ So that gives us another frame to think in - it doesn’t mean we always do what an Arabic player might have done but it gives us a different frame of reference.’

In fact, he says, just coming to Morocco, after earlier periods writing in Ireland and France, has changed their approach to songwriting. ‘I’ve had this thing about Arabic music for ages, thinking that it’s where the next big future in fusion will come from – I’ve been saying that for about thirty years and finally I think it is coming true.
‘There are things I like a lot about Arabic music which are different to what we do in western music and so we have started trying to incorporate some of those elements. It is not a question of sounds so much but of different structural decisions about how things are made.’

As Larry gets set at his kit and Adam writes out some chords, Edge begins tuning a mandolin which is the signal for Eno to get back to his MacBook and keyboard and his own place in the songwriting circle. So, if pushed, how far along the way does he feel they have got so far ? ‘There’ll be some differences of opinion about which things will constitute a record,’ he says. ‘But we have a lot of pieces. My general rule is that I’m only interested in things I have never heard anything like before - and we’ve got plenty of those!’
For the next four hours, except for a short break for supper, the house reverberates to the sound of six musicians working on two more songs. It is detailed, repetitive, laborious work, each take followed by discussion on where it isn’t working or how it could change – and then by another take.
‘They say it’s like sausage making,’ laughs Bono, looking up from his battered copy of Minds At War, an anthology of First World War poetry. ‘If you saw what went into it you would never want to try it at the end!’ But these people have been here before – there are very few distractions in Fez and so the music takes all the attention. And by the end of the night, one of the songs is sounding like it's going to go the distance. Eno seems to agree. As another take begins he starts jogging with unconcealed glee at his desk, does a quick pirhouette and plays the first note on his keyboard… behind his back.

Lado B [22.06.07]

The Sweetest Thing fue seleccionado como uno de los mejores temas incluídos en un lado B de single:

20 Killer B-Sides: No. 15

U2
'The Sweetest Thing'
--U2 (1987)

Written as an apology from Bono for forgetting his wife's birthday, this song was itself an afterthought. Issued as the flip side of U2's 'Where the Streets Have No Name' single, it was such an unexpected fan favorite that the band remade it for its 1998 best-of compilation. Promotional 'Sweetest Thing' candy bars are now collectors' items.

Edge habla de la energía que le transmiten grupos como Pearl Jam:

After more than a quarter century in U2 -- a band that's achieved seemingly everything one can in music: Grammys, sold-out world tours and enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- the Edge tells Spinner that recapturing the euphoria of his early performing days becomes increasingly difficult. But that doesn't mean the guitarist doesn't still know how to get his kicks.

"Seeing [Arcade Fire] in this little venue called the Olympian Theater in Dublin, was definitely one of those events where you just go, 'Yeah, this is what it's all about. This why I do what I do,'" he says. "Or the Secret Machines, who came with us for part of our American tour. Another recent moment was seeing Pearl Jam -- totally on fire. I'm a big fan but to see them in full flight was amazing. It's not that it happens rarely but it's always great when you have one of those moments when you just go, 'Wow. I'm one of the luckiest people alive. This is what I get to do.'"

While live shows certainly invigorate the veteran rocker, recordings aren't out of the question. Enter British chanteuse Imogen Heap. "'Hide and Seek' freaked me out when I heard it, it's so beautiful," Edge says. "I've known her work for a long time, but this song is just spine-chilling. There are certain songs that when you're driving in your car and you hear them for the first time, you have to pull over. You can't believe what you're hearing. That song is one of those."

Bono Blog [20.06.07]

El falso blog de Bono en este enlace:

I love billionairs almost as much as I love Africa
June 10th, 2007 by Bono

When I decided to save Africa, I knew I was in for a life of hardship. Gone were the days of sleeping with five women at a time on the U2 bus. Now I have to trek out to places like Tanzania for conferences. In stead of flying out with young, beautiful groupies — I’m now just traveling with tech geeks. While the Google plane is awesome, I have no clue what the fuck people in that engineer sausage fest are talking about. They asked me what I thought of social networking. I thought that meant I was finally being invited to an orgy, but they just asked to befriend me on some fucking website. And now I’ll have to take shit from Bill about hanging with Google.

Boy [19.06.07]

Un nene de 13 años entrevista a Bono para el periodico británico The Guardian:

CORMAC: You were a teenager in Dublin in the Seventies. What was it like being a teenager in Ireland then before mobiles and the internet ?

BONO: How you receive and impart information doesn't make that much difference. No matter what the technology is, you still manage to do what you need to do: Fall in love with your idols (in my case Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and Marc Bolan), plot with your mates, get pushed around and push back. We had a lot to rebel against as teenagers in a depressed Dublin of the 70s. Ireland was just emerging from being almost a theocracy. I believed in God, but I wasn't sure about churches of any denomination. I hated all the -isms, especially -isms where ideology was more important than people. Terrorism. Even the violent republicanism that rose up to respond to the bullying of the Catholic minority in the North of Ireland. Things got out of control very quickly. If the war had crossed the border, Ireland in the Seventies might have looked like Bosnia in the Nineties.
I just about missed the bomb that ripped apart the street I used to buy music in. My friend Guck was in the middle of it and still can't bring himself to talk about what he saw. Even though I thought it was normal at the time, it does appear with hindsight, violence was too large a part of my teenage life.
My friends' and my best response to the dull, grey housing estates was to make them luminous, with an imaginary altered state we called Lypton Village. We gave everyone in our gang new names for our new imaginary lives. I gave my friend Derek Rowen the name Guggi and he gave me the name Bono. There was Clivejive, Guckpants Delaney, Reggie Manuel the Cocker Spaniel and Gavin Friday. We'd do all kinds of surreal stuff to defend ourselves against the bootboy and skinhead culture that was popular on the housing estates at the time. Humour was our best weapon, followed eventually by music.
Some of us were good at violence, but it started to dawn on us how moronic the weekend drinking and beatings were. Your enemies define you, so choose them carefully. Make them interesting. Never pick an obvious fight.

CORMAC: Did you enjoy school? Were you a hard worker or a slacker?

BONO: We were lucky that the school we went to catered to our needs, rather than the other way round. I wasn't a swot but I don't remember being a slacker. I had plenty I wanted to do but I'm not sure it was all on the curriculum. My school provided well for me, it gave me a lot of my friends, a hall for our first gig, my wife ... not bad going really. When it comes to school, like many other things, it's best to make the one you have work.

CORMAC: My twin sister, Claire, wants to be a campaigner to stop global warning and help animals that are in danger of being extinct. Can you give her any tips on how to get results? (She's a bit wacky.)

BONO: Tell her to stay "wacky". She's driven; she's right.

La publicación TelQuel ofrece una entrevista a Bono durante las nuevas sesiones de grabación en Marruecos

"I feel as if it's never been this easy to write," Bono testified, a little before the group's departure from the Merinid capitol. "Fez is a holy place for musicians. We've come here to pay tribute to this town, and especially to learn." The singer continued, taking a mystical tone, " We're on pilgrimage."

Ten selections in all were born during this session, where for the first time ever local musicians were also recorded. An oud player, notably, and percussionists from Gnawa and Sufi brotherhoods. On the white board, in between the chord tabs, you could read "For Your Love," or "One Bird," titles (probably provisional) of two of their new songs.

It was a discreet visit, but not completely: housed at the Jamai Palace, the group turned up on foot to attend the concert by Iranian singer Parissa and the Dastan Ensemble of poems by Jalal ad-Din Rumi, provoking curiosity from audience members, passers-by, and tourists. Near the musicians, you could see Jordan's Queen Rania, with whom Bono had presented the Frontline Award For Human Rights a few days earlier in Dublin

TQ: You already filmed a video in Fez. Does this city inspire you?

The thing that always strikes me in Morocco is certain similarities with Irish music and culture. The singers here are very talented. I can learn from them, and they bring back to me certain traditions from back home, like the Sean-nos [a traditional dance accompanied by a cappella song and percussion -Ed.] There are lots of other similarities, like the pentatonic scales. We feel good about this music and these people. And then Fez is like a holy place for music and musicians. So we've also come here to pay tribute to this town, to get inspired, learn rhythms. We're really happy to be here.

TQ: Apparently you recorded with Moroccan artists. Is your the first time recording with Arab or North African musicians?

That's right. We had an oud player in, and some Gnawa and Sufi musicians. These guys were great masters. It was a very special atmosphere. Now, we don't really know what's going to come of all that. We wrote about ten songs here in two weeks. They're not completely finished, but I feel as if it's never been this easy to write, so many things were just flowing by themselves. We were recording in the courtyard of a riad, under a square of blue sky.

TQ: A word on the situation in Ireland. It seems to be going better, since Bloody Sunday?

The situation in Ireland proves what people ready to compromise can achieve. Compromise is a word people neglect, don't want to look in the face. They shouldn't do that. It's maybe one of the most interesting words in every language. It shows how much each person can make room for the other, the capacity of human beings to evolve with regard to each other. There were thirty very tough years, but over this last decade a lot of compromises have allowed peace to come to Ireland. It's fantastic.

TQ: You're going to the G8. What are your motivations? What messages do you want to get across?

I'll be there to remind them of the promises they made two years ago. I want them to know the world is watching them. There's a lot to do, and that's my job. I'm a little like a foghorn. And a bulldog, too.

Grabando en Marruecos [18.06.07]

U2 mas la dupla Eno-Lanois se encuentran en la ciudad medieval de Fez, Marruecos, grabando canciones nuevas. U2.com ofrece un artículo con bastantes detalles sobre estas sesiones:

Eno isn’t here to produce a record, but to collaborate on writing new songs. He is one of six musicians, forming a wide circle around the atrium floor. Next to him, moving clockwise, Larry Mullen is at his kit rehearsing a new beat. Further along is Adam Clayton, plucking a familiar-looking, battered green bass guitar. Next up, in a brown, peaked cap and playing a steel-stringed guitar, is Daniel Lanois. Assorted technicians, all well-known faces in the U2 entourage, move in and around the circle, including Dallas Schoo, Edge’s long-time tech, who is tuning the guitar that Edge will pick up next. Next to him, sitting on a velvet settee, surrounded by books, Bono is scribbling out lyrical ideas.

‘Brian ?’ asks Danny Lanois. ‘Can we hear that track from last night again ?’

‘Number one or number two?’ replies Eno, as a break in the music reveals the melody of birds in the eaves of the house.

That U2 are songwriting in this ancient city, the place they first visited to shoot the Mysterious Ways video in 1991, has remained largely a secret to the local community. Eno and Lanois, working together with the band on an extended period for the first time since the ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’ sessions in 2000, arrive unnoticed each morning about an hour before the band. They use the time to listen back to ideas they came up with the day before – and in sessions earlier this year. These two weeks are the third and fourth in which the six musicians have been songwriting.

‘It’s a pretty interesting place to have a recording studio, don’t you think?’ asks Bono.

And pretty creative, adds Larry. ‘We’ve been coming up with two or three ideas a day I guess,’ he explains. ‘It started in France when they came down to write with us a couple of months back and it will probably continue later in the year.

‘It’s the first time we’ve worked with Brian and Dan in a purely songwriting capacity so it’s very different, quite experimental and kind of liberating because of that…’

‘Let’s all come in on Larry this time, from the intro…’ comes the voice from under the parasol, calling everyone back to the music. The song gets underway with Eno throwing gentle instructions across the circle: ‘Verse, verse, chorus…’

One track they’ve been working up sounds like a soul song with distinctly Arabic rhythms. Another is an epic story-telling piece which seems to run for seven or eight minutes. This time, as the music stops, the birdsong is in competition with a local muezzin, calling the people of Fez to prayer.

‘It’s kinda nice to bathe in making music like this,’ explains Larry. ‘Normally we have to get a song finished but here we’re going through lots of different ideas, finishing out some, getting them to a certain point and then leaving it to see what might happen…’
At this stage, he says, no-one knows what will happen to the work – which is partly why it is so enjoyable. And the exotic location brings its own spirit to the music.
‘It happens wherever you are. If you’re in France or Dublin, you pick up what’s in the atmosphere. Fez might seem a strange choice but sometimes, to write the songs, you just have to get away from all the things that interrupt your day.’
Some days local musicians, percussionists and fiddlers, are also in the house, adding to the songwriting mix. And elements of the music are being informed by the distinct Arabic music scale.
‘They don’t do 4/4,” says Larry. ‘They work in 5/4 and 6/8 and 3/4. They work in very complex rhythms so it’s very interesting for us to be a part of. It’s definitely a learning curve for us…”

Yeats [18.06.07]

Jeremy Irons y Sindead Cusack estuvieron hace unos dias con Bono en la Biblioteca Nacional de Dublin, celebrando la poesia de WB Yeats.
Bono leyo 'The Host Of The Air', 'When You Are Old' y 'He Wishes For The Clothes For Heaven'.
El evento fue transmitido por RTE en su programa The Eleventh Hour, podés escuchardo desde este enlace (Bono recita después de los 3 minutos de transmision). WENN ofrece algunas imagenes.

Instant Karma [18.06.07]

U2 grabó el clásico de Lennon 'Instant Karma' para colaborar con el CD de Amnesty en contra del genocidio de Darfur:

More than 50 artists are taking part in the Amnesty International campaign which combines the music of John Lennon with new technology and human rights activism.

Highlights include: U2 ("Instant Karma"), Green Day ("Working Class Hero"), R.E.M. ("#9 Dream"); Jackson Browne ("Oh My Love"); Christina Aguilera ("Mother"), Avril Lavigne ("Imagine"), Corinne Bailey Rae ("I'm Losing You"); Snow Patrol ("Isolation"), The Flaming Lips ("(Just Like) Starting Over") Regina Spektor ("Real Love"); Lenny Kravitz ("Cold Turkey"); Los Lonely Boys ("Whatever Gets You Thru the Night"); Jakob Dylan with Dhani Harrison ("Gimme Some Truth") and Ben Harper ("Beautiful Boy").

Up to 400,000 people have died in Darfur, Sudan, while another 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes. Some 4.5 million people in the region and hundreds of thousands in neighboring countries Chad and Central African Republic are at risk of starvation, disease, and further attacks.

'The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson' realizó un sketch bastante flojo donde Bono y The Edge son críticos de cine. En el programa, el dúo critica la película 'The Boy Who Made the Wolf Cry' y el film porno 'Dirty, Dirty, Dirty Potatoe':

Bono fué editor invitado de la revista Vanity Fair, donde centró los contenidos en torno a la pobreza extrema y el avance del sida en Africa. La prestigiosa fotógrafa Annie Leibovitz colaboró con 20 imágenes distintas para las tapas:

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and guest editor Bono have published a special Africa issue featuring 20 covers shot by Annie Leibovitz including Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Warren Buffett, George W. Bush, Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Bill and Melinda Gates, Djimon Hounsou, Iman, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Barack Obama, Brad Pitt, Queen Rania of Jordan, Condoleezza Rice, Chris Rock, Desmond Tutu and Oprah Winfrey. Oh, and Bono of course.

“We went after this publication’s extraordinary photographers and storytellers because we needed help in describing the continent of Africa as an opportunity, as an adventure, not a burden." explained Bono. "We wanted to draw attention not only to the crises of Darfur and of AIDS, but also to the potential and optimism across these 53 diverse countries.”

Photographer Leibovitz describes the covers as "a kind of visual chain letter, spreading the message from person to person to person”.

“Bono is not only passionate about Africa,"adds Carter, "He is also incredibly well-informed. And who didn’t admire what he had done with his fortune and fame: marshaling the forces available to someone in his position in a serious crusade for debt cancellation and for eradication of H.I.V./AIDS in Africa.”

A series of related initiatives to benefit the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on (Red)’s behalf are also associated with this issue. Vanity Fair will donate on behalf of (Red) $5 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for every subscription purchased on-line in June.

Vanity Fair and (Red) have also launched a compilation of West African music curated by Grammy-Award-winning African musician Youssou N’Dour. The album goes on sale today at iTunes—100% of the sales price will be contributed to the Global Fund. All parties involved with the album have waived their profits, so 100 percent of the $8.99 sales price will be contributed to the Global Fund.

Rostock [18.06.07]

El pasado 7 de junio Bono participó del P8 Festival en Rostock, podes ver el video (Bono balbuceando en alemán, glorioso) en este enlace:

The show, organised by Grönemeyer to ramp up the political pressure as Germany hosted G8 leaders in Heiligendamm, saw Bono on stage in several musical combinations.

Opening with Youssou N'Dour and Bob Geldof on Marley's 'Redemption Song', they were joined by Campino from Die Toten Hosen for The Beatles' 'You Never Give Me Your Money' and finished up with more Marley and 'Get Up Stand Up'.

The logistics backstage were 'pretty complex', according to one of the team. 'We were running between three rooms: in one Bob, Youssou and Bono were rehearsing their set, in another it was G8 media interviews, and in another Bono was practising his German wth Herbert!'

As the 60,000 fans thought the show was coming to an end, Grönemeyer introduced his signature number 'Mensch', bringing Bono back on - in German.

U2 3D en Cannes [18.06.07]

La banda se presentó en el festival de Cannes para presentar un adelanto de su nueva película en 3D. También tocaron 2 temas, Vértigo y Where the Streets have no Name:

Film fans in Cannes got a surprise tonight, when U2 played a two-song set outside the Palais des Festivals, minutes before the screening of the new 3D movie.

Arriving to the incandescent flash of the massed ranks of the paparazzi, band and film director Catherine Owens left their car to stroll the red carpet into the Palais, the centre of the film festival.

To the unrestrained delight of hundreds of fans who had turned up on a hunch they might be in for something special, the band then climbed a stage and turned in blistering live versions of Vertigo and Streets.

Speaking in French, Bono wished a happy 60th birthday to the Festival.

Word had got out during the day that the band might be doing more than walking the red carpet to the premiere - hundreds of fans had turned up during the evening, chanting and unfurling banners.

After the performance the band headed inside for the screening

Doctor Edge [18.06.07]

El pasado 12 de mayo, The Edge recibió un doctorado honorario del Berklee College of Music en Boston. GettyImages ofrece varias imágenes del merecido reconocimiento.

Forbes [18.06.07]

La revista Forbes publica su ranking anual de los artistas mas poderosos, U2 se lleva el puesto Nro.22

Forbes Magazine just released the Celebrity 100, their annual list of the world’s most powerful. They tallied up celebrities’ annual salaries, web rank, press rank and TV rank … and PRESTO!

Se terminan las Vacaciones [15.06.07]

Durante un mes y medio el site vivió unas 'vacaciones forzozas' por motivos personales. Queremos ofrecer nuestras disculpas por esta ausencia, pero a veces a los que hacemos páginas nos agarra el 'síndrome de la vida real' donde este hobby pasa a segundo plano cuando las cosas de la vida se tornan algo pesadas y requieren su tiempo y atención. Por favor sepan aceptar estas disculpas, y en muy poco nos iremos poniendo al día con las noticias de nuestros irlandeses favoritos :)

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